SustainUS Statement on Hurricane Harvey

As many of us wake up in our safe and secure homes up North of out West, our televisions are flooded with abominable footage of massive floods overtaking the city of Houston, the 4th largest city in the United States.

In another supercharged disaster, the people of Texas are currently wading through water filled streets, many unable to drive their half submerged vehicles to escape the worst effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey enforces the lessons we learned from the super charged storms that devastated the New York Rockaways and Louisiana in the early 2000s. These supercharged storms happening increasingly often demonstrate the real life human consequences associated with warmer planet.

Right now in Texas, elderly folks are left vulnerable in high rises, unable to evacuate or access needed medical attention. Many are just waiting to be rescued by volunteers risking their own safety to help those ignored by aid efforts.

Undocumented immigrants are choosing to stay in the disaster zone rather than risk deportation by entering through the ICE checkpoints along the escape route.

For the homeless population, there is no private refuge to seek. Many stand open and vulnerable to massive flood water filled with debris from demolished houses and street signs. Even necessities such as food and clean drinking water are hard to acquire in such circumstances.

Hurricane Harvey is not only causing massive housing disasters, but is also revealing underlying institutional injustices such as inadequate access to health services, and predatory immigration enforcement practices.

Although one cannot say with certainty that a natural disaster was caused by climate change, the science confirms they are intensified through the combination of warmer ocean temperatures, increased rainfall, and rising sea levels.

The rest of the world understands that natural disasters will continue to worsen if the oil industry and regressive policies remain unchecked. The Trump administration demonstrated in their withdraw from the Paris Agreement that they are disinterested in the root cause of these super charged storms that are devastating entire communities throughout the globe. Young people refuse to live in a world plagued by super charged storms and rising seas. From college campuses, to city streets, young people are calling on their leaders to take bold climate action. We are organizing from the municipal level all the way up to the United Nations demanding the targets necessary to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

As these natural disaster become stronger and more frequent due to climate change it is essential to come together to support those most affective. The best way to do that is by donating to funds you can trust toprovide the most help to the most vulnerable. Please consider donating the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey.